I was at a wedding recently where the recessional was “Orange Colored Sky”. Super upbeat and very much non-traditional, I thought it was a great finish to the wedding. I know nothing of wedding planning; if a vocalist during he recessional is a no-no, I would suggest printing the lyrics on the wedding program.
The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik
For walking down the aisle, I recommend the Ouverture from Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks. You turn around and expect to see Dame Judy Densch dressed as Elizabeth I walking in.
I also like Chopin’s Nocturnes, especially no. 1 in B-flat minor, but it might be a little melancholy.
If it is only the piano I would suggest some Ravel. Perhaps, the Tombeau de Couperin. It is perhaps my favorite piece by him. Also, still by Ravel, the Pavane for a Dead Princess is also quite extraordinary. It is in no way a morbid piece (contrary to what the title may suggest. Also, it is easier to play than the Tombeau (hint…easier to find an affordable pianist for).
The more I think about it, the better the Pavane mentioned above sounds for a wedding. I played it once (an arrangement I did for the guitar) for a friend’s commitment ceremony in Texas and it went over well. It is an impressionistic piece which is a style that tends to go over pretty well for a wedding/emotional ceremony. It is also different enough so one does not feel like they are doing Wagner’s “Here comes the Bride” song. (I won’t mention it by name because a) I hate it b) it is way tooooooo overplayed) (note, the “o”'s were added for emphasis.)
An all impressionistic wedding would be quite beautiful. I would suggest the two biggest names in impressionism (Ravel and Debussey) concert with perhaps a bit of Faure thrown in. Yes, an all French wedding music recital. Maybe the slow movement from Tchaikovsky’s Pastoral Symphony thrown in somewhere near the middle (there are piano reductions available). The Girl with the Flaxen Hair or Clair de Lune (both by Debussy) would be a wonderful piece to introduce the bride (i.e. her walking down the aisle) or even the Sunken Cathedral (also by Debussy). The original two pieces would be pretty straightforward but the Sunken Cathedral would lead to an extremely ethereal atmosphere that (in some cases) may suit the bride and groom even more. Personally, I think The Girl with the Flaxen Hair is more romantic, but in this case I would probably go with the Sunken Cathedral.
If you want to listen through Ravel’s complete piano music, you can do it in less than 4 hours. He was not an extremely prolific composer, but everything he wrote (except Bolero…it was a study… A STUDYit only had one theme that was overplayed. It was meant to teach him the tones of the various instruments, not as a concert piece) was of high quality.
My personal favorite composer for the piano is A. Scriabin. Eventhough he wrote a lot of technically challenging and pleasing pieces, his music tends to be less pleasing to the traditional ear, especially after he developed the theory of the Mystic Scale and Mystic Chord. There are some earlier pieces (such as excerpts from Opus 11) that would be appropriate but probably too short.
Looking at all the composers I listed above makes me think back to who was one of their major influences. (Yes, even Tchaikovsky) That is right, the Poet of the Piano. Need another hint? No, not Liszt. Yes, Chopin. He, like Ravel was not overly prolific but still all the pieces (other than his failed attempt at a concerto) were of quality.
If you are going to go ripping through these various composer’s music haphazzardly and pull out things at random, I would suggest doing that in this order 1) Ravel 2) Chopin 3) Debussy 4) Faure 5) Tchaikovsky 6) Scriabin. They all wrote wonderful things but I listed them in the order that I believe you would find most appealing for a wedding. I put Tchaikovsky and Scriabin at the end because eventhough I like them, they wrote music that was not necessarily appropriate for a wedding. Ravel, Chopin and Debussy would probably be the best bet with specifics that I named with Ravel and Debussy. You can pretty much go with anything from Chopin (Pollanaise is a favorite, but not of mine. It may work in a wedding for the exit song.).
Anyway, the best of luck with you. I hope these musical suggestions would work out.
HUGS!
Sqrl
Gasoline: As an accompaniement to cereal it made a refreshing change. Glen Baxter
Haydn’s Water Music - Overture, Air, Finale.
Centerline: HANDEL’S bloody Water Music, not Haydn.
Sqrl: WHOA! Nice choices, particularly your pick of the Debussy etudes. How about Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit” ? Especially the psychotic dwarf movement?
Uke
WOO! Uke, I didn’t think about that one. I will have to go back to listen to it now. It would also be a pretty good choice as would any Ravel piece other than Blair-o (AKA Bolero).
Moussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (it was originally written for solo piano) is a good choice too. Ravel and Moussorgsky both arranged it for orchestra but Ravel did a much better job. Ravel is primarily known for his orchestrating ability. Anyway, the Promenade would be a wonderful entrance piece for the bride and it reoccurs between the various movements (basically it is in an extended Rondo form). Taking out select movements from it would work very nicely. So you know, it works very well on solo piano.
HUGS!
Sqrl
Gasoline: As an accompaniement to cereal it made a refreshing change. Glen Baxter